


Wounds

by a_shot_in_the_dark



Category: Common Law
Genre: Angry Sex, Angst, Clothed Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-01
Updated: 2013-07-20
Packaged: 2017-12-16 17:41:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/864796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_shot_in_the_dark/pseuds/a_shot_in_the_dark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Travis always bailed after fights. Wes hated him for it, envied him that he could just leave him and not feel bad about, that he could leave and let Wes burn and lower his eyes while everyone stared at him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> This'll be a real short story, maybe a few chapters. I just wanted to write some angst. Enjoy!

It’s not that Wes didn’t believe in Travis. He just didn’t believe in perfection. Humans were imperfect by nature, and prone to mistakes. How could Travis be sure George Helman was their shooter when he’d only gotten a glance at the man at their shootout? Wes couldn’t be sure. So how could Travis be?

“Just hold on-”

“I’m tired of waiting on you to figure things out, Wes!” Travis shouted, “I told you, Helman’s our guy. If you’d just listen to me for once-”

Everyone in the station was staring at them, just like they always did when they fought. Wes ran a hand through his hair and interrupted Travis.

“I listen to you all the time, Travis! But people make mistakes and I want to double check before you go bursting in-”

“Bursting in?! Like I’m some hurricane that can’t be controlled?!”

“You can’t be, Travis!”

“I’m a grown-ass man, and your partner!” Travis hissed, getting in his face, “I don’t need to be controlled. I need to be respected.”

Travis walked away to who-knows-where, and Wes was left standing there, feeling stupid. Travis always bailed after fights. Wes hated him for it, envied him that he could just leave him and not feel bad about, that he could leave and let Wes burn and lower his eyes while everyone stared at him. Wes grabbed his things and stormed out the door after him. He heard a voice, but he ignored it, walking faster.

It didn’t take him long to find Travis. He watched him follow Helman around the corner, heard gun shots, and bolted to where they were. Travis was holding up his hands. Wes peeked around the corner, and Helman shot at him. Travis came barreling around the corner for cover.

“It’s a dead-end, Helman! Give it up!” Wes shouted. No such luck. The man fired at them again. Finally, Wes managed to hit him in his shooting arm, a really good shot. Travis leapt forward and pinned him to the ground, cuffing him. More cops showed up, Wes and Travis took care of what they had to, tension hanging in the air between them.

“I need to talk to the owner of this building about the gunshot damage,” Wes said, turning from Travis to go inside. It was really an excuse to get away from him. A uniform could just as easily tell the hotel manager about it. He heard Travis’ footsteps behind him. 

“Hey!”

He stopped, closing his eyes. Why did he have to make a scene? At least the corridor was empty. He turned back to Travis, who was practically fuming.

“I was right! That gun? Same kind of gun that killed Elise. Same kind of gun that shot at us at the shootout. I _saw_ him. You could have backed me up!”

“Travis,” he sighed, “People make mistakes-”

“I was sure, Wes! It wasn’t a guess, or my gut telling me something, I _saw_ him. So don’t give me that bullshit. You don’t trust me!” Travis shouted. There was an extreme amount of hurt in Wes’ eyes. He got up in his face.

“Don’t you dare suggest-”

“You don’t! Don’t pretend you do,” he said, pushing Wes back. The blond stumbled before propelling himself forward and pushing back. Travis grabbed him by the shirt, aiming for a punch. He got him right below the eye, watched Wes’ head turn. He grabbed for Travis but Travis just pushed him. He fell, grappling onto anything he could. He ended up grabbing a vase. It looked heavy and expensive, but Wes brought it down with him like it was nothing. It smashed into pieces in his hand.

Travis had hurt his partner, but never like this. Wes’ hands were shaking, shards of the vase still stuck in his skin and blood seeping out of the wounds. Travis kneeled down beside him. He could barely breathe. He couldn’t stop staring. How much blood could come out of his hands? He held out his hand to touch him and Wes made a noise that sounded like a growl. He hadn’t dared to look at Wes’ face, but he looked on impulse.

He was mad. That was easy to tell. But there was something else there. Travis was still mad at him. He looked back down at his hands and moved to touch them again.

“Don’t touch me,” he said, his voice low and edged in venom. They stared at each other for what seemed like a long time, both tense and angry. Travis had the strange temptation to kiss him hard, but he was probably confusing regular tension for sexual tension.

“Oh my God.”

They both looked over at Kendall. What was Kendall doing there? She kneeled down beside Travis and gingerly held Wes’ hands in hers, careful not to touch the wounds.

“You’re both idiots! Big, stupid idiots!” she cried. Travis glanced at Wes curiously before he remembered he was mad at Wes. Kendall was usually so casual. Sure, she was harshly honest, but never like this.

“All you do is hurt each other. You scream and tear and punch until there’s nothing left. You can’t keep doing this. You guys were doing so much better after you got SIS.” She shook her head and helped Wes to his feet. “I’m driving you to the hospital and you’re getting stitches.” 

Travis didn’t wait to watch them leave. He didn’t ride behind them and wait to see if Wes was okay. He left before they could, headed out that door and didn’t look back. He kissed and fucked hard, but he didn’t feel a goddamn thing.

 

Wes woke with a start, panting and sweating. He put his head in his hands before wincing. His hands were wrapped up in bandages. They were stiff and sore and it was hard to do things. It had been a few days since they took down Helman. Wes had taken time off since he couldn’t really do anything with his hands. It was a bonus that he didn’t have to see Travis.

He crawled out of bed and plodded into the bathroom to pee. It was an awkward affair, having to unwrap his hands, piss, wash his hands, and wrap them up again, but at least he got to see his wounds. He would have scars. He looked up at the mirror and touched the bruise below his eye. He shook his head and wrapped his hands up again. There was angry knocking. It had to be Travis.

“Go away!”

“Wes, I’ve got a spare key card. I’ll just let myself in if you don’t.”

Wes didn’t answer, just waited breathlessly in the bedroom. He heard Travis enter. His heart was beating fast. Travis made his way into the bedroom.

“You hear to yell some more?”

Travis shook his head, getting closer. “Wow. You can’t even listen for one second, can you?”

“You can’t control yourself for one second so why-”

“Stop!” Travis shouted, grabbing him by the shirt. “Stop it!”

They stared at each other, breathing hard, until Travis slammed his lips onto Wes’. Wes made a surprised sound and pulled away, looking at him questioningly. Travis kissed him harder, and Wes didn’t pull away. He growled at Travis’ bites and licks. The other man pushed him down on the bed, their erections rubbing together through their pants. Wes pressed up against him, gasping at the feeling and biting at Travis’ bottom lip. Travis let a low growl out and moved against him.

It wasn’t slow and sensual. It was rough and dirty and hot. Wes was panting and flushed from the exertion. A small voice in his mind was saying that this was a bad idea, but it was being overshadowed by the fantastic sensations going on with his body. It kind of hurt with Travis’ jeans, but it was a good kind of hurt. He leaned up and kissed him, shoving his tongue in his mouth and licking every corner.

He could feel his orgasm coming, and he tried to control it. If they came, it would be over and they would have to deal with the consequences. He looked up at Travis’ hooded, angry eyes. His heart fell a little, but the sensations overwhelmed him and he came with a gasp, grinding his erection against Travis’. Travis sped up in his movements. Wes didn’t want to think. He grabbed Travis and kissed him desperately. Travis groaned in his mouth as he came in his pants. 

He lay on top of Wes, panting. Wes just held him. Affection seemed out of place after that. After rough, clothed, angry sex. Oh God, they had sex. Travis pushed off of him and headed for the door.

“Travis.”

He reached for the door handle.

“Travis!”

He stopped, but he didn’t turn around. Wes stood up.

“Don’t go.”

“…I have to, Wes.” And he was out the door. Wes was still on a high from his orgasm, but it wouldn’t last. Soon, the feeling would be gone and his boxers would be just be cold and wet and he’d be standing there, feeling stupid, watching Travis leave for the millionth time.


	2. Hurt

Travis wiped himself off in a stall of the hotel’s public bathroom, his hands shaking. Stupid, stupid! He was always doing stupid things and then pushing people away. He couldn’t go to therapy, he just couldn’t. But if Wes did… maybe that meant he’d want to work things out. His heart fluttered a little.

 _He’s not going to propose you be his boyfriend and live happily ever after with him,_ a voice snapped in his head. He grimaced and put himself together, washed his hands quickly, splashed his face, and headed out. He didn’t know where to go. His first thought was Wes and it made his stomach hurt. Then he thought about finding someone to have meaningless sex with and he felt like throwing up. He took off for a foster mom’s house to spend the night. 

 

The next day, Travis got up and went to work. Wes was still gone. They had therapy today. He left a little early, pulling up on his motorcycle. He didn’t see Wes’ car. He walked in, his heart trying to leap out of his chest. Still no Wes. He sat down, pretending to be okay, and chatted with Dakota for a little while. Her pregnancy was going along nicely.

He heard the door open just as they were about to start and froze. He heard him walk across the room, saw him in casual clothes out of the corner of his eye. Wes dragged the chair over a few inches, the chair groaning as he did so, and sat down, crossing his legs.

Travis tried to ignore him back, hurt that Wes was ignoring him. Kendall was right; all they did was hurt each other. 

“Wes, did something happen to your eye?” Dr. Ryan asked. Wes just waved her off, not saying anything. Travis raised his hand, and Dr. Ryan nodded.

“Yes, Travis? Do you have something you’d like to share?”

Wes shot him a warning glare, but Travis ignored it.

“Wes and I had sex.”

There were a few gasps and giggles, and then people were congratulating them, but Travis shook his head.

“Don’t.”

Dr. Ryan leaned forward in concern. “Was it consensual?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“All right. Let’s back up a little. Who initiated the sexual contact?” she asked. They looked at each other.

“Well… I did, I guess,” Travis mumbled, scratching his head.

“What made you want to have sex with Wes?”

Travis made a face and looked up at the ceiling.

“This is a safe place. We’ve discussed all the other couples’ sex lives in here. You can talk about anything here. Travis.”

Travis licked his lips nervously and nodded. “Well, uh… it was kind of angry sex, you know? Clothed sex.”

“Hm. And what made you so angry?”

“We were arguing over-… we need to go back further,” Wes said, “Travis identified George Helman as the man who shot at us. I was… worried that he might have been mistaken-”

“He didn’t trust me. Though I was right, I’ll point out,” Travis butted in.

Dr. Ryan held up her hand. “Wes, finish what you were saying.”

“I just wanted us to be 100% sure before we went after this guy.”

“If you had identified him, I would have had your back, man,” Travis said.

Dr. Ryan crossed her legs. “So Travis, you’re angry because you think your partner doesn’t trust you, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Wes, why didn’t you follow the man if Travis was so sure?” she asked him. Wes fidgeted in his seat.

“He’s a rich businessman. There was no physical evidence pointing toward him and-”

“Thinking like a lawyer still,” Travis said, scoffing.

“Travis, if we’re going to get anywhere with this, you’re going to have to quit interrupting Wes and let him tell his side of the story. Wes, do you think perhaps you made a mistake not trusting Travis?”

Wes took a deep breath, then nodded. Travis gaped at him for a few seconds before Dr. Ryan spoke up.

“Why do you think Wes has a problem trusting people?”

Dakota started to speak, but Dr. Ryan put up a hand. “I’m really glad you have an answer. Normally, I’d like the group to help. But I want Travis to figure this out.” She looked at Travis then. “Take your time and just answer honestly.”

Travis stared at her for a bit, then glanced at his blushing partner. “I think that’s a really complicated question, Dr. Ryan.”

“You’re very right. It is. But I think you two need to know this: You’ve both been left by people you care about. Travis, you by your parents and your foster homes. Wes by his parents and Alex. You both lost Paekman. It’s hard to trust someone that you think is just going to disappear the moment you let them in.”

Travis turned to him awkwardly. “Hey, um… we’re partners, man. I ain’t leaving you.”

Wes nodded, studying his lap. “Same.”

“Good job, guys. We’re making some real progress. But I have to ask, why does Wes have a black eye and bandaged hands? Did you get into a physical fight before you had sex?”

Wes turned bright red. “Yeah. It… was still about that.”

“While I commend you for making progress here, this physical fighting has to stop. You are seriously going to hurt one another or someone else. You two are not gorillas or five year-olds. You can work things out like adults and talk,” Dr. Ryan said, “Now, when you’re feeling so angry that you want to hurt the other, I want you to breathe and count ten seconds. Think about how you could solve the problem by talking. And if that doesn’t work, I want you to step away from the argument. Put it on the shelf.”

They both nodded. Travis licked his lips nervously and sat up a little. “May I talk?”

“Go ahead.”

“Hey, uh… Wes? I just wanted to let you know that I understand being alone and only trusting yourself… but we’ve been together-… well, not _together_ together, but you know, together for a while. You can trust me.”

Wes chewed on his lip, staring into his eyes. Travis thought he was going to kiss him for a second until Dr. Ryan interrupted their staring.

“Wes, would you like to respond to Travis?”

“You can trust me, too, Travis. I’m not going anywhere,” Wes said quietly. Travis stared at him, unsure. He started when Wes grabbed his hands, his face desperate. “Travis, you can! I swear you can! I can’t… I need…” He stopped, looking around and turning red, trying to return to his quiet, proper self, but Travis had seen the passion in his face. So he cupped his cheek and kissed him, right in front of Dr. Ryan and the group. He heard a few sighs, and he felt Wes gently trying to pull away. He let him. But he couldn’t hide the disappointment in his eyes. Wes ducked his head, flushed.

Dr. Ryan had a knowing look on her face. “Let’s talk about what just happened.”

“Can we not, please?” Wes complained, staring at the floor. Travis glared at him, hurt, and stood up.

“Travis-”

“No, I’m done with this bullshit!” He softened, since it was Dr. Ryan he was talking to after all. “I’m sorry. I can’t just go on ignoring this… thing between us.”

Travis walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Progress? Sort of? Come on, boys, stop being so stubborn.


	3. It Felt Like This

Wes showed up late at night on Travis’ doorstep, looking like a mess. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, walking past Travis. He closed the door behind him.

“That’s always bad.”

Wes gave him an annoyed look. “I’m not… I’ve never done this before but… I can’t deny that you’re really good looking. Really…” he licked his lips nervously, his eyes trailing down Travis’ body, “…sexy. And I think if we deny the sexual tension, we’ll be angry, so let’s… do it and just… you know, be friends.”

“Friends with benefits?” Travis asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wes turned red. “Yeah, I guess-”

Travis kissed him hard. He didn’t know what he wanted from Wes. He didn’t know if he wanted him as a boyfriend or not, but he _definitely_ did know that he wanted to kiss him, touch him. And if that’s what Wes wanted, too, then how could he say no?

It started out with quick, sloppy blowjobs. Then handjobs after a fight. Then, one day, Travis kissed Wes, the adrenaline still pumping from an earlier chase. They started pulling each other into closets to kiss, giggling and trying not to wrinkle each other’s clothes too much. Wes didn’t complain as much when Travis fell asleep before returning the favor. They started leaving clothes at each other’s places.

Travis hovered over Wes, ghosting his fingers over his chest. Wes had his eyes closed, his chest moving up and down quickly like he was nervous. Travis left soft kisses going down his neck and Wes shivered. 

“Travis…”

“Shh… I’ve got you, baby,” he said, slowly stroking him. Wes groaned and arched up into him. Travis leaned down and kissed him softly. “God, I love your body.”

He moved his hand down to his ass and pushed in with his finger. The blond gasped, gripping Travis.

“Come on, baby. Relax.”

Travis had this nagging feeling that Wes wasn’t quite there. He put another finger in before glancing up at him. Wes had a hand over his eyes, but Travis could see the tears going down his cheeks. He pulled out immediately, causing Wes to groan, and pulled his hand away. Wes struggled against him, putting his face to the side.

“Wes, baby, what is it?”

Wes didn’t reply, putting his other hand over his face. Travis sighed, scooting over and dragging Wes into his lap. Wes fought him, swatting at him.

“Wes, stop. Talk.”

“No, just forget it, okay?” Wes said, curling up in his lap. Wes was losing his erection, and Travis was in the same boat. He lugged Wes up to the pillows, lying next to him and pulling the covers up over them.

“I’ve gotta leave,” Wes murmured.

“Hey, no. I’m not letting you leave like this. Just relax and go to sleep.”

Wes watched him for a moment, looking like someone had kicked a puppy, before leaning forward and kissing him heatedly. Travis was surprised and confused, but went along with it until Wes pulled away and put his head down on the pillow, shutting his eyes. Travis waited till his breathing was even before stroking his hair, kissing his head and wondering what was going on in that silly head of his.

 

“We haven’t heard from Wes and Travis, and I’m very curious about how you’ve been doing,” Dr. Ryan said, looking to the two men. They had barely been interacting except at work, and they hadn’t had sex in a week.

“Well, uh… You know, we agreed to be friends with benefits,” Travis started off awkwardly, “And that was going great until-”

“Uh oh. One of you got attached?” Rozelle asked.

Travis looked over at her, confused. “Uh… well, I don’t know what really happened. I was getting my groove on about a week ago when… um…”

He glanced at Wes, not wanting to embarrass him, but Wes just glared at him, his cheeks pink, before looking away. Travis felt the annoyance sinking in and closed his eyes, trying to calm down.

“Travis?”

“He started crying.”

“During _sex_?” Dakota exclaimed, “Ohhh boy. You’re in trouble.”

“Huh?” Travis asked.

“I usually cry during sex when I’m mad and don’t want it anymore, or I’m upset with Peter.”

Peter was looking everywhere but at anyone else.

“I didn’t do anything! We were doing great!”

“Perhaps,” Dr. Ryan interrupted them, “we should hear from Wes.”

Wes looked up, his face bright red. “I don’t want to talk.”

“Why is that?”

“Because what happens during sex is personal, and it’s none of these people’s business.”

“It’s a safe environment, Wes,” Dr. Ryan said, “None of these people have judged you before. Perhaps your reason for crying is a delicate subject that embarrasses you. Was the sex enjoyable?”

“…Yes.”

“Did Travis do anything wrong?”

“…No.”

“What were you feeling while you were crying?” she asked.

“Can we stop making it sound like I was bawling? It was just a few tears,” Wes snapped.

“Wes, it’s understandable. You were obviously very emotional. Everyone lets a few tears fall when they’re emotional. I was not judging you, but I would like to know what you were feeling.”

Wes took a shaky breath, avoiding Travis’ gaze. “I’m scared.”

“Why are you scared?”

“Because… because I love it when he steals me away for a kiss. Or when we just have lazy sex in the morning. The way he looks at me when I hold him.”

“You love him!” Dakota gasped.

It was like Dakota had dropped a bomb. Everyone started chattering at once except Wes, Travis, and Dr. Ryan. Dr. Ryan was trying desperately to get order. Travis was staring at Wes in bewilderment. And Wes was getting up to leave.

“Wes, wait!” Travis said, grabbing his arm.

“Let go of me,” he snarled. Travis stood up, wrapping his arms around his struggling partner. Everyone fell silent as Travis held him, Wes hiding his face in his shoulder.

“I hate you,” Wes said. Travis shook his head.

“No, you don’t.”

“I know,” Wes said quietly. Travis led him back to his seat and sat him down.

“I love that stuff, too,” Travis murmured. 

“Travis, do you think you love Wes?” Dr. Ryan asked gently. Travis looked over at his partner, sighing.

“I can’t. As soon as I say…” He sniffed, trying to compose himself. “I can’t love anyone. Everyone just leaves. I know I can trust you to stay, but I’m just so terrified that something horrible is going to happen and I’m going to lose you.” He paused. “I’ve been in love before. And it felt like this.”

The group gasped and sighed, and Wes’ head whipped around so he could look at him.

“You… you love me?”

“Yeah, baby,” Travis said, “I love you. And I’m so scared of losing you now.”

“You won’t. You won’t,” Wes said, leaning over and capturing his lips, kissing him softly.

 

They walked out of the therapy session, holding hands. Wes stopped him.

“What about… I mean, you used to have one-night stands.”

“Man, you’re an idiot. I stopped seeing anyone but you about two weeks ago,” Travis said, kissing him, “Get it through that thick skull: I love you, too.”

Wes smiled a little. “You panicking? Your hand is sweating.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve been panicking for a while now. I think I should lie down. In a bed, you know.”

“Hm,” Wes said, “You’d probably like company. And maybe a fun activity to distract you from your thoughts.”

Travis grinned. “Your place or mine?”

“Whichever’s closer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends. I hope it was sufficiently angsty and enjoyable. Kudos and Comments are appreciated. Thanks for reading :)


End file.
